


The Shadow of Marmota Monax

by crimsonhawk



Series: Storms Over Colorado Universe [7]
Category: Kim Possible (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-06
Updated: 2013-02-06
Packaged: 2017-11-28 09:41:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/672981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crimsonhawk/pseuds/crimsonhawk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>SOC Road Trip Story. Kim and Shego visit Springfield, MO, for Groundhog Day. Little do they know that a nasty surprise is waiting for them at Shego's favorite store there. -KIGO-</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Shadow of Marmota Monax

**SOC ROAD TRIP: THE SHADOW OF MARMOTA MONAX**

"Here we are, Princess," Shego smiled as she drove down the highway in her rental convertible, passing a city limits sign. The air was chilly outside, so she had the top up and the heater on. She reached over and patted the beautiful redhead who was asleep in the passenger seat on the thigh. "We're in Springfield."

Kim roused slightly from her slumber to gaze out of the window groggily. She blinked a couple of times then rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "Springfield?" she yawned. "Oh, can we stop off and see Mr. Burns? I've been meaning to kick that man in the teeth for everything he does. Why do all of the aristocratic jackhole villains have to be named Monty?"

Shego looked at Kim queerly for several moments, before trying to stifle a laugh. She then shook her head bemusedly. "No, Kimmie. Not the Simpsons' hometown. This is Springfield, Missouri. We left Tennessee yesterday, remember?"

"Oh," Kim mumbled as she leaned over from the window and into Shego. She snuggled against the ex-villainess before adding, "Yeah."

Shego chuckled and ruffled her companion's long, beautiful red hair. "Come on, Pumpkin. Wake up. It's after 8 o'clock. Tell ya what. How about we stop off at a Dunkin' Donuts and grab some breakfast and coffee before heading on to our destination?"

"Dunkin' Donuts is nice," Kim agreed. She turned her face to nuzzle Shego's arm affectionately.

Shego glanced down and considered Kim for a moment before sneaking in a slight smile and turning her attention back to the road. The road trip had been an incredible journey so far. Never in a million years had Shego thought she would fall in love with a woman in general, let alone the impossibly persistent pain in the ass that was Kim Possible. But here she was, driving down the road, with the delicious looking 19 year old snuggled up next to her. And she was loving it.

It had also been a difficult journey. First there was the heartache that each of them had felt with their respective male lovers. Kim had inadvertently driven off the Buffoon with her obsessive need for him to keep up with her. And Shego had felt driven off from Drakken by his obsessive need to be... well... himself. When Shego accidentally stumbled onto Kim in the middle of a thunderstorm in the back woods of Colorado, Kim suddenly confessed to Shego. Shego chose to explore her options in that light, given that she desperately needed a break from the rapidly disintegrating relationship she had with Drakken. So they planned out a road trip to take together.

Of course, Drakken didn't take that well. The moron never took  _anything_  that didn't go his way well. But Shego hadn't expected Drakken to climb into his latest invention, a Diablo-style powered armor suit, and  _attack Shego with it_. Shego trapped Drakken in the suit, called in Global Justice, and fled to Kim's house for safety.

From there, it had been a slow and steady rise from having hit bottom to where the two of them were now. They had driven south from Middleton, hitting Las Vegas before going to Santa Fe, then across Texas to Corpus Christi before flying out to Boston. They visited Plymouth before driving south along the Eastern Seaboard, finally arriving in Florida for Christmas with Nana Possible. Things were almost ruined when Shego (with Wade Load's help) discovered that Kim's behavior had been influenced by pheromones that were in Shego's perfume. But Kim found Shego in New York City on New Year's Eve and they talked things through.

Now Kim and Shego were officially an item.

And Shego couldn't have been happier.

It wasn't some spectacular kiss under the fireworks of the New Year cheer or anything like that. For that matter, their first kiss had actually been under the mistletoe on Christmas Night in Nana's house. Subconsciously, Shego touched her lips with her fingertips... she could still  _taste_  that kiss on her lips. It sent shivers down her spine.

"You okay, Rochelle?" Kim asked softly, looking up at Shego.

Shego blinked out of her reverie and glanced down at Kim. "Oh, sorry, Kimmie. I was... remembering our first kiss."

Kim smiled like a mischievous kitten and purred softly as she snuggled into Shego again. "Yeah, that one was so a wow moment, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, it was," Shego grinned. She saw an exit with a doughnut shop sign and switched lanes to take it.

A comfortable silence fell between the two women as Shego turned onto the local street towards the doughnut shop. It allowed Shego to drift back into her thoughts. Yes, indeed, that first kiss (and the second one that followed shortly thereafter) had been powerful. Kim had abandoned all caution to take the chance of a lifetime. She had completely shed her guard and opened herself to Shego in that one, important moment. Shego had nearly destroyed that trust later that night when she left Kim behind... ostensibly to save the hero from Shego's duplicity in the pheromone scare. But Kim had proven herself the stronger woman by  _continuing_  to extend Shego that trust and talk things through with her a week later.

The two Christmas kisses had been powerful. Life-changing, in fact. But the third kiss—the one they shared on New Year's Eve after they had hashed over their issues with the pheromone scare—had been profoundly different. It had been...

It had been emotional. Full of love. That was what Shego was trying to grasp. The Christmas kisses had been lustful, driven as much by the pheromones as by Kim's attraction to Shego. The New Year's Eve kiss had instead been full of love. Full of mutual respect and emotional affection between the two women.

Perhaps that was why that kiss had lasted several minutes rather than several moments. Perhaps that's why the porter had to wait out in the hallway for several minutes until they were done with the kiss. Perhaps that was why the two of them had spent the rest of the evening in the hotel room, dancing to one romantic song after another, sipping on wine and then finally snuggling on the sofa to watch the ball drop through their hotel window.

Perhaps that was why they had fallen asleep in each other's arms for the first time for a reason other than to keep Kim warm that night.

No, nothing more than that happened that night. It was still too soon. Both Kim and Shego knew that. Then again, they both knew that neither of them really knew what to do even if they did decide to go that far. Certainly, Shego was more experienced sexually than Kim... Shego had enjoyed plenty of lovers throughout her criminal career, including Drakken (sadly enough), whereas Kim had only had make-out sessions with the Buffoon. But that didn't mean that Shego knew how to make love to a  _woman_.

Shego bit her bottom lip and tried not to chuckle to herself over the next thought. She failed.

"Dare I ask?" Kim asked, smiling softly at Shego.

"I was just thinking that we may have to pick up some research material in Kansas City once we get there," Shego replied, snorting softly in her attempt to curb her chuckling.

Kim blinked and looked at Shego queerly for a moment. Then her train of thought caught up with Shego's. "Oh. Ooooohhhhh!"

"Yeah," Shego said, smirking at the beautiful redhead.

"Wow, Rochelle," Kim drawled with a seductive, half-lidded look in her eyes. "Thinking dirty thoughts about me now, are you?"

"Have you looked at yourself in a mirror, Pumpkin?" Shego said, finally allowing herself to laugh. She turned into a parking lot, where she saw the doughnut shop sitting in the middle of a strip mall. "I'm surprised you don't have dirty thoughts about yourself."

"I can't have dirty thoughts about myself," Kim replied, smirking slightly. "Not while sitting in this car. I can no longer look at myself while I'm with you than I can look at the flame of a candle while I'm holding it up to the sun."

Shego pulled into a parking spot in front of the doughnut shop and turned to look at Kim. "Wow, Kimmie! Laying it on a bit thick, aren't we?"

"Thick and long and hard and...," Kim joked, thrusting a finger through a loop she'd formed with her other hand while winking playfully at Shego.

Shego jammed the gearstick into Park and growled. "Okay, yes, I'm horny. I admit it. Now get out of the car. It's breakfast time."

"Ma'am! Yes, ma'am!" Kim saluted.

Kim jumped out of the car, laughing, before Shego could pounce on the redhead.

* * *

Kim sat in the passenger seat of the convertible, sipping contentedly on her coffee. Shego was behind the wheel, driving along and munching on a chocolate creme-filled doughnut.

"You're going to be bouncing off of the walls later, you know that, Rochelle?" Kim said playfully to the beautiful, pale-skinned woman.

"Ya think?" Shego laughed. "Yeah, I don't usually indulge in something so unhealthy. But, darn it, if I can't have sex, I'll at least have sugar. Chocolate, no less."

Kim chuckled at that. "Fair enough on  _that_  front. By the way, Happy Groundhog Day."

Shego looked at Kim weirdly. "Really? You're going to treat Groundhog Day like a holiday?"

"Why not?" Kim shrugged. "I mean, the Pennsylvania Dutch do. So why not me?"

"Because you're more Irish than you are Dutch?" Shego ventured.

Kim stuck her tongue out at Shego on that one. "No, seriously, the folklore behind Groundhog Day goes all the way back to ancient Europe, even though Groundhog Day itself didn't really start until around the 18th century."

Shego rose a brow to that. "Paying attention in History class for once, Pumpkin?"

"Haha!" Kim laughed sarcastically. "Yes, I was. Some theorists believe that someone invented the concept of the groundhog checking its shadow to moderate between two traditions."

"Huh?" Shego asked, looking at Kim curiously.

"Some people in ancient Europe felt that Spring should start at Imbolc, the Gaelic festival for Springtime," Kim explained. "Others wanted to be more scientific about it and say that Spring didn't start until the Vernal Equinox. Well, some smartass decided that a sacred animal, back then either a badger or a bear, would decide which was which from year to year. If the animal saw its shadow, the Vernal Equinox people won the contest and Spring wouldn't start for six weeks. If it didn't, then the Imbolc people won and Spring started right then."

Shego nodded, understanding. "And the tradition carried over to the United States, where they decided that the groundhog was the sacred animal of choice. Now I understand."

"If it makes you feel any better," Kim grinned knowingly. "It's also Candlemas today."

"The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple?" Shego asked, shaking his head. "Princess, you know I'm not Catholic."

"Just offering the option," Kim grinned and shrugged. She then looked out the window and blinked. "Wait, where are we?"

Shego parked the car and smiled. "I thought I'd swing by here while we were in Springfield. I think you'll like it here."

"Bass Pro Shop?" Kim asked curiously. "You're taking me into a fishing store?"

"Kimmie," Shego said, smiling smugly, "the store isn't that big just because it's a simple fishing store. Come on. You'll love it."

"Um, okay," Kim breathed, opening her door as Shego stepped out of her door.

* * *

"Seriously, dude," the short, broad-shouldered man with a mullet and a thick mustache sighed as he walked along with his companion. "People can so see you."

The man's companion spun and pointed a finger at him. "Don't be such a Negative Nancy, Eddie. This disguise is infallible!"

Eddie Lipsky, or rather, the villain known to the world as Motor Ed, stopped to consider his cousin. Drew Theodore P. Lipsky, the villain known to the world as Doctor Drakken, posed dramatically in his khaki shorts, Hawaiian-style shirt, dark glasses, and flip-flop sandals. His dark raven hair was still combed back in a ponytail. His skin was still blue.

Motor Ed slapped a hand over his eyes and dragged it down his face. "Dude, it's in the middle of fraggin' winter!"

"That's what makes the disguise so infallible!" Drakken pointed out. "No one would ever suspect someone with as supreme of an intelligence as mine to be wearing summer clothes in the middle of winter. Trust me, Eddie, it's fool-proof!"

Motor Ed looked around. People were walking by and looking at the two villains suspiciously, granting them wide berth. Motor Ed just rolled his eyes and turned back to Drakken. "Seriously, though. How do you even know she's here?"

"The tracking bug I planted on her before she... she betrayed me...," Drakken began to explain, pausing to seethe visibly at the memory of that night, "...indicates that she's Springfield. And if I know Shego, she's going to come here. She may be a lazy, good-for-nothing, self-indulgent bitch, but...,"

* * *

"...I also love the outdoors and camping," Shego proclaimed, presenting her surrounding to Kim with a flourish.

Kim looked around at her surroundings. It was incredible. Kim had been expected a dark, dank store, like a hillbilly version of a convenience store with nothing but fishing poles, worms, and beer. She didn't expect anything like what she was seeing here. Not just fishing supplies, but all sorts of outdoor activity supplies. In a store the size of a giant department store. Department stores Kim could do. Especially one that looked as alive and as lively as this one. There was stuffed animals everywhere. And cascading waterfalls and fountains.

THERE WAS LIVE FISH IN THE PONDS!

Kim leaned into the railing of the miniature bridge the two women were standing on and stared down into the water. The bass fish swimming in the water flittered about, kicking their tails and turning on a dime.

"This is so neat!" Kim breathed, still staring into the water.

Two strong yet gentle hands came to rest on Kim's shoulders, drawing the redhead's attention. She turned to look at the beautiful raven-haired woman standing behind her. Olive eyes met emerald eyes as Shego smiled.

"You think  _that's_  neat?" Shego teased. "You should see the buffet restaurant upstairs. It has one of the largest and most beautiful fish tanks you'll see anywhere. And, yes, we're eating lunch there today. The food is to die for."

"Spankin'!" Kim said, her face beaming. She spun around, as if looking for something. "Hey, do they have a clothing department?"

Shego laughed. "I doubt very seriously you're going to find the latest Club Banana fashions there, but yeah, there's a clothing department."

"Oh, I know that they're going to focus on stuff for the outdoorsman," Kim agreed. "That's what I'm thinking. New mission clothes and whatnot."

The smile faded from Shego's face and she turned away slightly.

Kim noticed it. She looked at Shego curiously. "Rochelle? What's wrong?"

Shego took in a deep breath and faked her best smile. "Nothing, Pumpkin. It's okay."

Kim crossed her arms and tapped her fingers. "Rochelle, I'm a woman, too. I've pulled the Nothing-Dear card on Ron more times than I can count. So I know what it really means. Now, you want to try being honest with me this time?"

Shego sighed. "It's just... yeah. The missions. That's how you and I met. You've known the Bu... you've known Ron since you were both little kids. That relationship should have by all rights worked out like the classic fairy tale ending. But it didn't. If you go back on missions, you'll be spending time with Ron again. And what if you meet another villain who can keep up with you..."

Kim's frown softened considerably. "First of all, thank you for being honest with me about your feelings. That means a lot to me. More than you can possibly know. Ron wasn't. He got scared and ran. He and I may be best friends again, but I won't ever be able to trust him with my heart again, even if I can't blame him for what he did. Second of all, name me one villain in my rogue's gallery who can keep up with either one of us."

Shego considered that question for a moment and started counting on her fingers. She would pause occasionally, as if deep in thought. Then she would go back to counting on her fingers. Kim watched this for several moments, watching curiously.

Finally Shego responded. "No one. There isn't anyone in our league."

"I dunno," Kim smirked. "Frugal Lucre comes pretty close."

Shego looked at Kim with astonished disbelief. After a moment, they both started laughing hysterically.

"Rochelle," Kim said soothingly as they both calmed down from their laughter, "you're not going to lose me. Not like that. My heart is yours now. In fact, I was kinda wondering if you'd like to be my new mission partner."

"Me?" Shego breathed, losing her breath for a moment. "Why me, Pumpkin? You already have Ron. I mean, he's easy to pick on, but he always seemed to pull through for you. And I don't want you to dump him just because I'm jealous..."

Kim nodded. "He always has pulled through for me. But he's with Yori now. The two of them make an even better team than he and I did, believe it or not. Wade's been sending them out on missions while you and I have been taking our break."

Shego blinked at that. "He has?"

Kim laughed. "Someone has to cover for us. I mean, what do you think all of the villains would think if they suddenly heard that I'd decided to tell the whole world to go screw itself and took a vacation?"

Shego smirked at that. "I know I'd try to push the Cyclops as close to the edge of her sanity as I possibly could."

Kim nodded knowingly, understanding that Shego was speaking of Dr. Elizabeth Director, leader of Global Justice. "I imagine all of the villains would. So Wade's been sending out Ron and Yori in my stead. In  _our_  stead, if you're interested."

Shego nodded and thought for a moment. "Let me sleep on it, Kimmie. I mean, anything to be able to spend more time with you. But you have to understand... I did the whole hero thing before. I... I have my reasons for not wanting to do it again."

Kim tried to lock down the look of disappointment that she knew must have crept across her face. "I understand. Well, as well as anyone who hasn't walked a mile in your shoes, anyway. I'm keeping the invite open, though."

"Thanks, Kimmie," Shego said, reaching over to brush a lock of red hair from the hero's face. "That means a lot to me."

With that, she leaned in and kissed Kim softly. Before she could pull back out, though, Kim wrapped her arm around Shego's neck and planted a deeper kiss on her girlfriend.

The kiss didn't last for more than a moment or two. But it conveyed all of the feelings that Kim wanted it to convey.

* * *

On a nearby balcony, Drakken was seething visibly and audibly at the sight he saw on the ground floor below.

"Did... did you see that, Eddie?!" Drakken all but shrieked. "She kissed Possible! She  _kissed_  her! She dumped me for Possible!"

"I could have told you that a long time ago, dude," Motor Ed replied, pulling an earbud out of his ear and tucking a tiny device back into his sleeveless shirt. "Seriously, did you never see the glow on Shego's face anytime she fought Kim?"

Drakken didn't respond for several moments. At least, not in any way that could be considered intelligible by any sane person. He stood there and seethed and seethed and seethed, mumbling incoherent obscenities as he convulsed like a stiff lumber board in a wind tunnel. Finally, he calmed down enough to look at Motor Ed angrily.

"Did you at least find out where they were heading next?"

"Dude, Kim said something about clothing," Motor Ed replied.

"Of course," Drakken said, suddenly so calm as to scare Motor Ed. "Possible has always been fashion conscious. It's only natural that a teenage girl like her would gravitate to that part of the store. Come, Eddie. We're going to catch Shego and Possible by surprise there."

Drakken then took off along the balcony. Motor Ed simply stood there and crossed his arms, watching as Kim and Shego finished crossing the miniature bridge below and continued on deeper into the store. After a moment, Drakken returned.

"Um, do you know which way the clothing department actually is?" Drakken asked meekly.

Motor Ed sighed, grabbed Drakken's arm, and dragged him off in the opposite direction Drakken had originally left.

* * *

Kim held up a pair of khaki pants and showed them to Shego. "What about these?"

Shego shook her head. "You know I prefer darker clothes, Pumpkin."

Kim and Shego were in the racks of the outdoor sports wear section of Bass Pro Shop, looking at various sports wear.

Kim grinned mischievously and held up a black, sleeveless, legless diving suit. "How about this, my dear?"

Shego's eyes went wide. "Kimmie! There would not be a single person attracted to women capable of keeping their hands off of me if I wore something like that!"

"I know," Kim drawled seductively.

"Oy vie!" Shego breathed, rolling her eyes. "Yes, I'm sexy and I know it. But I thought we were picking out  _mission clothes_."

"I  _am_  on a mission," Kim replied playfully, hugging the diving suit to her body.

"Haha!" Shego laughed. "Come on, Possible, you're doing that Let's-Tease-Shego thing again."

"My bad," Kim said, smiling and shrugging before putting the diving suit back on the rack. "Going back to Let's-Be-Serious mode."

Kim turned back to the racks and considered things for a moment. "Ah-hah!"

Shego crossed her arms and waited for the redhead to finish digging through the racks.

Kim suddenly spun around and presented two pieces of clothing. One was a pair of cargo pants with a dark green urban camouflage pattern on it. The other was a black hoodie sweatshirt.

Shego nodded appreciatively. "We're getting closer. I love the color scheme. The cargo pants reminds me of your old style a little too much, though. Nothing personal, pumpkin, but that style is a few years old now. We need something a bit here and now."

"True," Kim nodded. She then sighed and put the clothes back on the rack. "At least it's food for thought. We can draw ideas today and then go to Monique later with the ideas."

"She's the one who decked you and Ron out, right?" Shego asked. "I think it's a good idea, then."

"Let's go over here and see what they have on this rack," Kim suggested, running off to another aisle.

Shego chuckled and shook her head as she followed Kim.

* * *

Behind one of the racks, Drakken huddled down. He couldn't help but giggle hysterically.

"Soon, Shego, very soon," he mumbled gleefully, "you will be made to pay for every ounce of pain, every ounce of humiliation, every ounce of defeat that I have felt over the last five years. If I had known you were in league with the Possible before now, your days would have ended long ago. Are you ready, Eddie?"

Drakken turned to Motor Ed, who was standing behind him. Motor Ed held a large device in his hands. It appeared much like a military-style bazooka only with laser lenses rather than a ballistic barrel. Motor Ed was looking at it curiously, turning it over one direction then another before shaking it violently.

"Be careful with that!" Drakken hissed angrily. "That's sensitive electronic equipment!"

"Oh, right," Motor Ed replied, putting the device in its upright position. "Sorry, dude. Seriously, though, how do you turn it on?"

"The large red button turns it on," Drakken said, sighing. "Then you pull the trigger by the hand grip to fire it."

"Like this?" Motor Ed asked, clicking the button and pulling the trigger while the device was still cradled in his arms. It wasn't even aimed yet.

Drakken shrieked as the device fired, sending a bright blue beam over the clothes rack they were hiding behind.

* * *

Kim was about to run around the end of a clothes rack when a bright blue beam struck the mannequin on display there. The mannequin's natural colors faded, first turning an ice blue before turning black and then a bright red. Just as it turned bright red, the mannequin exploded violently, showering Kim and everything nearby with pieces of plastic and metal.

"What the deuce!" Kim snapped, covering her eyes with her arms to protect herself from the plastic shrapnel.

Shego ran up as the shrapnel fell to the floor. She spun Kim around and looked at her up and down. She jerked Kim's arms off of her eyes, grabbed one of the arms, and shoved a sleeve up her arm.

"Ro... Rochelle?"

"Shhh, Kimmie," Shego hissed, looking up and down Kim's forearm. "Bleeding. I was afraid of that. We're going to get some first aid on these arms as soon as I'm done kicking someone's tail from here to Timbuktu and back."

Shego then turned in the direction from whence the blast had came. Shego sneered as Kim heard an all-too-familiar voice.

"Eddie, you idiot!" the voice shrieked. "We were supposed catch Shego by surprise with that blast!"

"Oops," came a mumbled response. "Sorry, dude."

"Drakken and Motor Ed?" Kim breathed. "After  _you_?"

"Doesn't surprise me," Shego replied. "After what I did to him." She then dropped into a battle stance and lit her fists up with green plasma before shouting out towards the voices. "Hey! Drewbie! I know it's asking a bit much from a little boy like you, but... you want to come out here and face me like a man?"

"And get blasted in the face with some plasma? I think not! Come on, Eddie, let's get out of here."

Shego stood up and doused her flames, crossing her arms. "You know, Drewbie, I told you a year ago that that inverse polarity matter cannon wasn't a good idea... just like that stupid-lame pheromone idea."

"IT WAS NOT STUPID-LAME!" Drakken shrieked horrifically, causing Kim to wince. "And evidence seems to indicate that the pheromone idea ACTUALLY WORKED!"

Kim looked curiously at Shego, who was now smirking smugly to herself.

Drakken came storming out from behind the clothes rack. Motor Ed was right behind him, trying to pull Drakken back by the tail of his shirt.

"But, the thing is, the pheromones were supposed to only work on Possible!" Drakken growled, clearly agitated. "You were  _supposed_  to let Possible fall in love with you and then lure her into a life of crime, where we could frame her and have her locked away for life, leaving us free to carry on with other nefarious schemes! But, no! You had to go and let the pheromones affect you too! Which... I'm going to have to go back over my notes and figure out how that happened, since the pheromones were specifically designed to affect only Possible."

Shego chuckled and shook her head. She glanced around and saw all of the people gathering about, watching from a distance. Several of them were security guards.  _This is too perfect,_ she thought to herself honestly.

Shego then turned back to Drakken. "Except that the pheromones  _didn't_ affect me, Drewbie."

"Then why did you willingly kiss Possible over there by the...," Drakken started to ask. Then his face lit up. "Oh! I get it! You're luring her in! Leading her on! This is perfect! Soon the world will fall to me once Possible is out of the way."

"You've several problems, though," Shego pointed out.

"Well, yes, I will need to install an administrative structure capable of handling the bureaucratic needs of ruling a whole planet, of course," Drakken said absently. "And a secret service force capable of enforcing my rule against insurrection. I have taken that into account and I have an account with HenchCo for just that reason. Plus..."

"No," Shego corrected, rolling her eyes. Every moment of this conversation was reminding her as to why her life was so much better now. "First problem is that Possible is standing right here, listening to every word dripping out of your idiotic mouth."

Kim couldn't help but smile at that.

"Bah, she can be privvy to my plans," Drakken snapped, waving his hand dismissively. "She always seems to be, anyway. That still won't stop us from defeating her."

"Second problem is that the reason I gave her that kiss over on the bridge is because I love her," Shego added.

"That can worked around, too," Drakken replied. "You see, I... wait, what?"

"Kimmie respects me for who I am," Shego pointed out. "She likes spending time with me and giving me attention. We enjoy a lot of the same things and we can talk shop a lot. We challenge each other in ways that make us grow as people. And she sure as all get-out doesn't strike me down with a giant robot suit."

To Shego's satisfaction, that statement was rewarded with a great deal of agitated murmuring from within the gathering crowd. Drakken stood there, glancing around nervously.

"Princess? Would you mind pulling that picture up on your wristwatch?"

Kim looked at Shego curiously. "Are you sure, babe?"

Shego smirked. "Beyond a doubt." Then she turned to the crowd. "Okay, boys and girls. If any of you are sensitive to the sort of stuff you'd see in a Victoria's Secret catalog, you might want to look away."

Kim raised up her wristwatch and pressed a few buttons. After a moment, a voice piped up.

"Hey, Kim! What can I do for you?"

"Hey, Wade," Kim replied. "Could you pull up that photo of Shego we took on Halloween and project it holographically through the Kimmunicator?"

"Sure thing, Kim," Wade Load's voice replied. "Just give me a little bit and... there, coming right up!"

Kim reared her head back as a photograph of what was presumably Shego projected upwards into the air above Kim and displayed like a holographic image. The image depicted Shego from about the base of her chin to just below her waist. She still wore black pants but she was topless, her breasts covered by a beautiful lacy black bra. What the surrounding crowd quickly discovered was that the bra was not the point of interest.

It was the purplish-green bruise that ran from the base of Shego's neck, down her right side, and into her pants that was the point of interest.

"Mind you," Shego said, pointing at the picture as she glared at Drakken. "You've already been prosecuted and sentenced for doing that to me. You haven't  _served out_  your sentence yet, but you've been sentenced. But the fact still remains that you  _did_  do that to me. Just because I told you I wanted to go on a road trip with Kimmie. I hadn't even fallen in love with her yet!"

Now there was definitely a measure of agitated murmurings amongst the gathered crowd.

"Well, um, you see, uh, Shego...," Drakken stammered, shrinking into a slouch as he tented his fingertips. "I, um, you made me very, very angry that day. I had the most wonderful evil scheme and..."

"I told you I wasn't interested in throwing away my global pardon over something like that," Shego added. "So you threw a temper tantrum, got in your little robot suit, and struck at me with its full strength!"

"YOU SURVIVED BEING THROWN INTO AN ELECTRICAL TRANSMISSION TOWER!" Drakken shrieked. Kim winced at that one. "HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW YOU'D BRUISE SO EASILY OVER BEING PUNCHED?"

Shego sighed. "One thing good that's come out of all of this is that I now know who I can trust. Who I can love. I thought I loved you, Drew. It took me four years to open up to you. It took you only four months to make it the worst mistake of my life."

"Shego...," Drakken breathed, suddenly realizing what Shego was saying.

"I don't love you anymore, Drew," Shego said, reaching over and lacing her fingers with Kim's. "I love Kimmie now."

"But...," Drakken said, motioning to Kim with both hands. "Possible is... is a girl!"

"Yes, she is indeed a  _woman_ ," Shego agreed. "That part of our relationship is something we're still getting used to, I'll admit. But she still admires me, cherishes me, challenges me... and  _protects_  me."

Drakken's shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Not to mention you just confessed to your part in the pheromones scheme," Motor Ed added. "Seriously, dude."

"Bah! I'm not worried about that," Drakken said. "What are the security guards going to do about that? Arrest me?"

"No, but I can."

Without warning, Motor Ed grabbed Drakken by the back of his neck and slammed Drakken face first into the floor.

"Eddie! What in the world?!" Drakken shrieked.

"You think I don't remember what my dad did to my mom? Your aunt?" Motor Ed seethed, his eyes livid. "I vowed I would never treat a woman like Dad treated Mom. But here you are, flying off the handle over something as simple as a road trip and causing  _that_  sort of damage?" To emphasize his point, Motor Ed pointed at the holographic image still floating above Kim. "Dude, seriously. You're under arrest for the use of a controlled substance towards inducing an individual to commit a crime against his or her will. You have the right to remain silent..."

Drakken's eyes went wide as Motor Ed slapped handcuffs onto him. "Eddie?! When did you become a good guy?"

Shego knelt down in front of Drakken's prone form and held up a tiny device to his face. Her grin was evil and creepy. Drakken's eyes went even wider.

"My tracking bug! I planted that on you before you even left the lair to go to Fort Collins! How did you...?"

Shego chuckled. "Yeah, funny story, that..."

* * *

_It was New Year's Eve. Wade Load sighed heavily into the mic on his computer._

" _You don't understand Ron," Wade explained. "I tried the Kimmunicator. I tried both of their cell phones. I tried the hotel phone. Everything went to voice mail. That means that Kim found Shego and that she's making headway in repairing their relationship. I could hack into any of those things easily, but do **you**  want to be the one to face them if they're like... um... you know..."_

" _Oh, yeah," Ron said, his voice ripe with sudden realization. "Good point. So not a good thing to do. But you need to at least warn them about what's going on. If you need Yori and I to fly in, that's no big. We can do that all day, every day, no problem. But it still means squat if KP and Shego are caught unawares."_

" _That's true," Wade agreed. "But how would I go about warning them?"_

" _Remember that trick you did with that garden gnome in my Mom's garage that one Mother's Day?" Ron said. "Dude, you could so do that. Like on one of their forks. Or the sofa. Or one of their toys..."_

" _Lalalalala!" Wade cried, plugging his ears with his fingers. "So flushing that image out of my brain. But I think you're on to something, Ron. And I think I can do it without making them feel like I'm invading their privacy."_

_-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-_

_Kim and Shego sat on the sofa in their hotel room in the Renaissance New York Time Square Hotel. Outside, fireworks were firing off. The room was dark in a romantic sort of way. The ball had just dropped and now everyone in the crowd in the street below were partying, carrying on, and having a good time. Kim and Shego were enjoying some personal "quiet time," snuggling together on the couch and watching the scene unfold._

" _Rochelle?" Kim asked softly, turning to Shego._

" _Yes, Kimmie?" Shego replied, turning to look at Kim._

" _May I confess something without scaring you?"_

" _I don't scare easy, Pumpkin."_

_Kim took in a deep breath. "Rochelle, I love you. I have for a long while, even before we met up in that cabin. It just took the last week for me to realize it. And I promise it's not the pheromones talking. It's me."_

_Shego nodded thoughtfully. "I... I know, Princess. You're... I know you're not on those pheromones anymore. I just... wow, I said I didn't scare easy, but here I am, getting nervous about three little words."_

" _They're three words that carry the weight of the world on them," Kim agreed. "If anything should scare you at all..."_

" _At least it's something like that and not some alien monster or something," Shego added. "Yeah. Kimmie, I think..."_

_Kim placed a finger on Shego's lips, which silenced the pale beauty. "No, Shego. If you have to start the sentence off with those words, don't say it at all. Besides, I've felt it in your kisses. I know you do."_

" _Great," Shego chuckled. "Now I have that old Cher song stuck in my head."_

" _Huh?" Kim asked, perplexed._

" _Nevermind," Shego chuckled. "Just come here and let me say it to you the right way."_

_With that, Shego pulled Kim into her arms and kissed her soundly, deeply, but also gently. It wasn't a forced kiss, but one that was possessed of all of the emotions and feelings that Shego felt at that very moment. A whole week's worth of pent up rage, grief, frustration, and regret washed away once again as she poured all of her... yes, all of her love for Kim into the kiss. Shego had lost count of the number of kisses they had already shared that evening, but each kiss felt like the first, given the amount of emotion behind each one._

_Suddenly, while the two women were deep in their kiss, the lights began to flicker._

" _What in the world?" Shego growled angrily. "Even at a discount, I pay good money to stay in this room."_

_Kim watched the lights, then glanced out the window. "That's weird. Our room is the only one suffering from this."_

" _Gyah! Hold on, Princess, I have to call room service. This is ridiculous." Shego started to stand up._

" _Wait!" Kim said, reaching up and taking Shego by the wrist._

" _What is it, Kimmie?" Shego asked._

" _This...," Kim started to say, pausing to watch the lights fluctuate._

" _This what?" Shego asked, urging the redhead to finish her sentence._

" _This is Morse Code," Kim said, continuing to watch the lights._

* * *

With that, Shego used her plasma to fry the little tracking bug that was between her fingertips.

Drakken gulped audibly.

"After Nerdlinger told us about you escaping prison," Shego explained, "we contacted the Cyclops to find out what was being done about your recapture. That's when she told us about Motor Ed."

"I'm sorry, Drew, but I plea bargained," Motor Ed growled, pressing his full weight down on Drakken's shoulders. Drakken whined in pain at that. "You see, I don't take what you did to Shego lightly. Seriously. I was going to get you for it regardless, but Director gave me a better option. My own sentence is reduced if I get you to confess to what you did with the pheromones."

Drakken's eyes filled up with disbelief on hearing that.

"Fortunately for Ed, Shego and I were more than happy to help him out on that," Kim explained, stepping up to the trio. "All that we needed was a way for you guys to find us."

"I had a suspicion you already took care of that one for us," Shego continued, leaning down to meet Drakken eye-to-eye. "So I had Kimmie do a full-body search of me. I'll spare you the wonderfully delicious details of  _that_  little evening. Suffice it to say, she found the bug in a place I will never,  _ever_ allow you to touch again."

Drakken grinned sheepishly at that statement.

"We kept the tracker bug on so that you and Motor Ed could find us," Kim added. "We just didn't know when or where you were finally going to strike."

"And that's why I 'accidentally' fired off that cannon of yours," Motor Ed said. "To let the girls know we were here."

"And your pompous ass just couldn't resist an opportunity to gloat about how ingenious that pheromone thing was," Shego laughed. "You just did yourself in."

"Dude," Motor Ed said, pressing down again just for good measure. "Seriously."

"My whole family," Drakken cried, suddenly sobbing uncontrollably. "My whole evil family has turned against me!"

"You brought it on yourself, Drewbie," Shego growled.

At that point, several Global Justice agents pushed their way through the crowd and surrounded Kim, Shego, Motor Ed, and Drakken. All of their weapons were primed and aimed.

"My work here is done," Motor Ed declared, standing up and putting his hands up. "Seriously."

Two agents reached down and picked the thoroughly defeated Drakken by the arms. As they dragged him off, he glanced back with a look that could melt metal if looks could kill.

"This isn't over yet, Possible!" Drakken yelled. "You think you're all that, but you're not! I'll escape and I'll..."

At that point, the guards rounded a corner and dragged Drakken out of sight... and earshot.

Kim then turned to Motor Ed. "So now what?"

"He returns to prison with me to serve out the rest of his now considerably shorter sentence," came a voice from behind Kim. The redhead turned to see an older brunette with an eye patch and a Global Justice uniform.

"Betty," Motor Ed said, nodding respectfully. "How's it hangin', babe?"

Betty smirked at the short yet muscular man. "It's hangin' well, dude. Ready for the rest of your stint?"

Motor Ed sighed and nodded. "Let's get it done and over with. Maybe after this, I can make my momma proud."

"I think you already did by standing up for Shego like you did," Kim said, smiling and patting Motor Ed on the shoulder.

"Well, let's be off, then," Betty said, offering Motor Ed her arm.

Motor Ed nodded and slid his arm around Betty's arm. As the two of them walked off, followed by the rest of the Global Justice agents, Motor Ed stopped and looked back.

"Hey, Kim, Shego?" Motor Ed said, nodding to the two women. "Thanks, babes. Seriously."

"No problem, dude!" Kim replied, grinning and waving at him.

Shego sneered and elbowed her girlfriend. "Don't encourage him!" Shego snarled playfully.

That made Kim giggle.

Once the Global Justice agents had disappeared around the corner, Kim turned to Shego. "Hey, did you notice what happened there?" she asked, pointing after the agents.

"Yeah," Shego laughed. "Eddie called the Cyclops 'babe' and she let him get away with it. It appears someone has the hots for the bad boy motor junkie."

"They do say that the tats make the man," Kim purred playfully.

Shego gently slapped the back of Kim's head. "The clothes, Cupcake. The clothes make the man. But anyway, I guess now we're stuck with clean-up. And, no, your Puppy Dog Pout isn't getting you out of it this time."

Kim laughed. "One, I had graduation to attend last time. Two, this is just a little bit of plastic shrapnel, not a city full of giant robotic drones. Three, I'm pretty sure that while Betty was showing her public face, Will Du was talking to the General Manager about getting this whole mess straightened out. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Bass Pro Shop was allowed to take credit for cooperating with the trap; that'd be good PR if they could portray themselves as being conscious of public safety."

Shego snorted. "Ah, the joys of Corporate America. Well, let's get ourselves out of... Princess?"

While Shego had been talking, Kim had walked to a nearby wide-panel window. The sun was starting to peak out from behind some clouds as she gazed out the window.

"You okay, Kimmie?" Shego asked, stepping up behind the redhead. "Are your arms still bleeding?"

Kim looked back at Shego and smiled. She then held up her hands and bathed them in a shaft of sunlight nearby. As Shego watched curiously, Kim shaped her fingers and hands into an odd shape. She then glanced down at the ground, where the beam of sunlight ended. Shego followed Kim's gaze and noticed the shadow of Kim's hands.

The shadow looked like that of a groundhog.

"Looks like the groundhog saw its shadow," Kim declared. "Six more weeks of winter."

Shego chuckled at that. "Very funny, Kimmie. Merry Candlemas to you, too."

Both women laughed hard at each other's comments, then hugged each other tight. They gazed out at the beautiful weather outside before finally turning to each other and kissing each deeply.

**[END THE SHADOW OF MARMOTA MONAX]**

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks goes out to kgs-wy, who fed me more than a few ideas related to the big reveal in this chapter. The song that Shego alludes to in the flashback scene is It's In His Kiss, by Cher. Also, if you're liking this story, you might enjoy my other KP stories as well. If you haven't already, go to my profile and try out the TSOD Universe stories (The Specter of Death, Robots & Redemption, Wedding Elements, and The Shadow of Infinity) plus my new Chrono Trigger crossover story, Chrono Sitch.


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